Not Quite A Family Outing
by Izumi's Apprentice
Summary: Storybrooke lacks many common amenities the rest of the United States, the rest of even Maine has, and Henry wants to know about all of them, starting first with mini-golf. Who better to assist than his sister, Lily? Dragon Queen Family. Dragon Flower. Flower Believer.


Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT

Author's Notes: I'm attempting to get back into writing more Dragon Queen. I figured Lily would be a good gateway as she's an easy simple voice to get into right now.

Not Quite a Family Outing

"What's mini-golf?"

"Well...it's...like a miniature golf course, but only putting, no driving so the ball is suppose to stay on the ground the entire time and some places are themed so there might be a windmill in the middle of the course or it's on a faux pirate ship...it varies," Lily explained in a halting kind of manner as though she hadn't been explaining things that don't occur in Storybrooke since she had arrived (which she had). It would seem the magically cut off town was missing a lot of awesome things the real world had, but at least their booze supply was in high demand.

"Sounds like fun," was all Henry said in response, dropping the subject with a note of finality to his voice.

Confused at first, Lily's mouth opened to offer bringing Henry to a mini-golf course outside of town before trailing off mid-sentence when she looked at her mother. She hadn't realized she was looking at her mom until the woman caught her gaze and Lily looked down guiltily. She was going to suggest it as a family outing with the four of them, Emma too if she wanted to keep an eye on her kid, but...mom couldn't leave Storybrooke. "I'm gonna...go for a walk," Lily mumbled, untangling her legs from the couch and moving swiftly for the front door.

Great! There she goes again, screwing things up. Speaking before thinking things through. Consequences for her actions being that slight twinkle of sadness in her mother's gaze despite her smile. Dammit!

Lily walked along the streets aimlessly, careful to avoid any oncoming although sparse traffic when she did veer off the crosswalk. Now and then she would spot a large pebble and kick it as hard as she could, only once or twice not connecting with the small object and flailing for balance for a moment. She sighed when she missed her third rock and stuffed her hands in her pockets and drew her shoulders up to her ears. She couldn't bring herself to apologize to her mother, her remorse fairly obvious when she averted her eyes, but the guilt ate away at Lily's heart anyways. Like it always did. Like it always had.

She wished there was a way to even the balance, to give Emma back her half of the darkness swarming her heart. She didn't want it, had never wanted it frankly, but before Emma and Regina had come for her, she had somewhat accepted her fate and given into the darkness. But now she saw what her life could be like, what family was like, what it was like to be _wanted_ , Lily wanted to be able to feel like normal people, wanted to reciprocate the love so blatantly visible on her mothers' faces, on Henry's face, for crying out loud. He loved her already and they hardly knew each other. Regina truly was a testament to his big heart, wasn't she? A good mother and role model since coming to Storybrooke. Though Lily had heard of her defensive, protective attitude when Emma came to town, but that was purely motherly instinct to guard her son. Some of the happenings may not have been ideal ways to approach the situations, but caring for Henry had been at the forefront of Regina's mind. Lily understood that much.

"Lily?"

Lily's head snapped to attention, looking around for a moment before she realized she was in the glade she had first connected with her mother in and transformed back into her human form. Mom was sitting on the log they leaned against when she received the rattle. Though she told no one and had carefully wrapped it in a small handkerchief to mute any sound, Lily had been keeping the old trinket on her person of late, mostly in her pocket so she could hold it surreptitiously. Her hand clenched automatically at the memory and she found herself looking to the ground, not moving from her spot. Mom had known she would walk here. She hadn't tracked her, that would be too easy and she would have approached sooner perhaps, no...she had known Lily's mind would bring her here.

"Lily, it's okay."

There was her name again. Slowly she raised her head to look through her lashes at her mother. How could one person have such beautiful and open blue eyes, like looking into one of those awesome oasis' watery depths? And yet, here was a living personification of just such an instance. Lily's mouth opened in an attempt to apologize and her mom held up a hand.

"You don't need to say anything."

Lily's feet dragged across the ground as she drew closer to her mother and plopped down onto the log, their shoulders touching. It was all she would allow for the moment and she knew her mother wouldn't push things. Not anymore. She knew she was pushy and excited to be a mother, to be affectionate and sweet and domestic with Lily, but Lily didn't like that. She needed time to adjust and mom had been so understanding and patient that she allowed Lily to initiate contact when she needed it or allowed it.

Regina was even more wary, not scared per say, but she knew it was tough for Lily to come to terms with having two biological mothers, magic aside, and kept her distance. She showed her love and want for Lily in her life by allowing her to stay with them in the mansion, by learning her favorite meals and cooking them for her, by offering up activities to do together if she's interested, and by allowing her to spend time with Henry. Lily knew how precious and important Henry was to her other mother and though she got along well with the boy she never took that trust and time for granted.

She wasn't sure when it happened but when she felt her mother's arm wrap around her waist, Lily recognized that she had laid her head on the woman's shoulder. And she couldn't bring herself to mind. Lily was only just getting used to her heightened temperature so her mother's grip on her waist was a point of focus as she struggled to say something. She knew she didn't have to, but she wasn't a big fan of prolonged silences either. Before she settled on anything specific, her mother spoke up.

"Regina thinks you should take Henry mini-golfing. Just the two of you."

"What?" Lily's reaction was immediate, pulling away to look at her mother, yet the hand around her didn't move. Not even mentioning how strange it was hearing the modern word in her mother's refined voice.

"Henry seemed so excited to try something new and Regina has no reference for making a miniature golf course, so she felt it best you both experience it first hand and come back to explain and then we can make one in town," her mother replied evenly.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "She could just look it up online. I know this town is half-ass backwards, more so than even the rest of Maine, but I know for a fact it has internet. Surely there must be a how-to somewhere for her to glean the info she needs," she spoke matter of factly.

"That's not the point."

Biting her tongue of the retort so easily at her lips, Lily paused for a moment and contemplated what her mother said. Why wasn't it the point? What was the point then? The dawning realization that struck her moments later made Lily feel stupid for not knowing sooner.

And all her mother did was smile.

"She wants us to bond," Lily bit through the statement, a confession of being wrong if she's ever heard one. But if her mother wouldn't allow her to apologize for not thinking of her stationary state inside Storybrooke, she would give her this admission as freely as she could. Her mother's head bobbed in agreement, ever the wise and observant one of her parents. She had much to say, that was very clear, but she would often sit and stare at her or Regina or Henry for hours on end, watching and enjoying their presence. To an outsider who had no idea who Maleficent was, they may even worry that the woman was touched in the head and needed special attention, but it was her mother's way of gathering information. It was the dragon's keen ability to stay still until their prey was in reach. A facet of her patience in plainer terms.

Her mother's smile widened as she pulled Lily closer to nuzzle her hair. Lily scoffed at the notion but didn't pull away either, simply relaxing into the touch. "Living in Storybrooke is enough for me. Cramped, yes, I cannot refute that, but my family is here. You, Regina and the little prince. I am happy here. And I am happy that you are here to show Henry the outside world safely should he desire that adventure. Very little you say will offend me, little one," her mother spoke in a soothing and honest tone, pressing a kiss to Lily's brunette locks afterwards.

The deep breath Lily pulled in took all of her restraint to not pull away from her mother and she slowly released it through her nose and nodded slightly. "Alright. I won't be as careful," she promised.

"Good. Now, I think a certain young man has been on a computer since learning he's going on an adventure tomorrow. Shall we go back and help him out?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, we better intervene before he gets enraptured by one of the largest indoor arcades just south of the border in New Hampshire. That would be a full day trip," Lily chuckled as they stood up to head home.


End file.
